As some of you know, we have just returned from 5 weeks in France. It was a truly wonderful trip, spending 3 weeks in Paris before heading down to the glorious Burgundy district for almost 2 weeks. Like everyone for whom travel is an essential part of life, we were anxious to spread our wings and head back to our favourite destination after the COVID-induced lockdowns of the last 2 years or so.
There are so many wonderful museums in Paris, selecting which ones to visit when you’ve got limited time is a challenge. We certainly have our favourites, and we also keep an eye on websites of Paris cultural institutions to check if there will be any special shows on during our next visit. One of our favourites since we first discovered it some years ago is the Musée Nissim de Camondo, which backs onto the beautiful Parc Monceau, and has a number of embassies and discreet 5-star hotels as its neighbours.
In a city that boasts over 140 museums, and a food culture that’s worth travelling from the other side of the world for, it a natural fit that there are going to be cafes and restaurants in certain Paris museums that are as worth visiting as the museums themselves. Some museum restaurants have become icons of good food and great ambience, such as the Café at Musée Jacquemart-André, and more recently, Alain Ducasse’s ‘Ore’ at the Chateau de Versailles and the Café Littéraire at L’Institut du Monde Arabe. Lately, there has been a quiet culinary revolution happening in the city’s museums.
When we think of museums in Paris, what immediately springs to mind are the internationally famous institutions such as the Louvre, Quai d’Orsay, Pompidou Centre, and perhaps the recent addition of the Fondation Louis Vuitton. But Paris also has the largest and most important collection of Asian artefacts in Europe at the Musée des Art Asiatiques Guimet in the 16th arrondissement. From the Buddhas of Afghanistan, the Zen monks of Japan, Samurai armour, Indian fabrics, to fine Chinese art and Khmer treasures, the Musée Guimet offers a unique opportunity to take a meditative, aesthetic journey to discover the heart of Asian art and culture.
A stone’s throw from some of the most prestigious haute couture houses and designer boutiques in the city, the Musée de la Mode de la Ville de Paris is housed in the Italian Renaissance-inspired Palais Galliera. The museum preserves some of the richest collections in the world, estimated at around 200,000 items of clothing, accessories, photographs, drawings and more. Tracing the evolution of fashion over more than 300 years, these extraordinary collections are a window into the dress codes of France from the 18th century to the present day, and are regularly accessed for numerous exhibitions in France and other countries.
